'He made it OK to like superheroes': Marvel co-creator Stan Lee's death reverberates with Ravens

Jonas Shaffer/Baltimore Sun

Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III wore a Black Panther hat Wednesday as a tribute to the late Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee, who died Monday. Lee's passing at the age of 95 affected several Ravens players.

Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III wore a Black Panther hat Wednesday as a tribute to the late Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee, who died Monday. Lee's passing at the age of 95 affected several Ravens players. (Jonas Shaffer/Baltimore Sun)

Ravens defensive lineman Patrick Ricard was in the middle of paying tribute to Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee on Wednesday when he was interrupted by tight end Maxx Williams. When Ricard informed Williams of the subject of his conversation, Williams said, “Don’t break his heart before practice.”

No tears were shed, but the death of the 95-year-old Lee — who suffered from pneumonia in February — on Monday resonated with several Ravens players, some of whom took to Twitter to honor the man who was responsible for iconic characters such as Iron Man, Spider-Man and the X-Men.

“That one man made so many superheroes. Without him, none of them would be around,” said Ricard, who wore a Star Wars T-shirt before practice. “Just growing up with those superheroes, he made it OK to like superheroes. I couldn’t imagine him making those comics back in the ’60s and ’70s when that stuff was not cool. For one person to do that, he’s had an impact on so many lives. I was sad to see him pass because his cameos in the movies were awesome. I heard he filmed his cameo for Avengers 4, which is cool. He’s just one of those guys that you don’t think will ever pass, and when he does, you’re like, ‘Oh, man.’ Hopefully, his influence will cause more people to make more superheroes.”

Offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor recalled visiting a store in London and paying the American equivalent of about 75 cents for the newest edition of Captain America.

“I was able to get it every Saturday,” he said. “So when I heard he passed away, I was like, ‘Damn.’ That’s a guy who helped me grow in my childhood and let my imagination run wild.”

While meeting the media, quarterback Robert Griffin III wore a Black Panther hat as an homage to Lee.

“Seeing him pass away, I think a lot of kids, a lot of us growing up, lived off of those Marvel flicks,” said Griffin, who showed up to the team’s game against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 28 in a Black Panther mask. “So definitely that, and just Black Panther’s something I’ve kind of taken on the role of this entire year with these guys, and the guys know that I wear the socks at practice and training camp and the hat.